A group of Wisconsin professors and faculty unified to condemn the horrifying assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk while demanding respect and free speech protections for all viewpoints.
The statement, which was released yesterday, calls Kirk’s murder an “attack on all universities and their core mission” while demanding that the University of Wisconsin and all Wisconsin universities protect the free speech rights of their students and faculty.
“We, the undersigned members of the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Association of Scholars, are university faculty members in Wisconsin who categorically condemn the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” they wrote.
While the reaction to Kirk’s death has been divisive, the organization has pledged to continue Kirk’s mission, receiving a flood of new donors and interest in starting new chapters in both college and high school. (RELATED: UW-Madison Professor Under Fire for Comments in the Wake of Charlie Kirk Death)
One of the core missions of Turning Point USA and Kirk was to promote the free exchange of ideas on college campuses, which was something that the statement signed by Wisconsin professors and faculty demanded continued support for.
“We further urge the universities to enforce their codes of conduct when it comes to any attempt to intimidate or restrict free speech on campus. And we demand that universities continue to allow speakers of all viewpoints, including conservative speakers, on campus. Our views are our own and do not represent the institutions where we work.”
Statements like the one made by Wisconsin professors could ease the concerns of the American public who have become increasingly pessimistic about freedom of speech being protected in the United States.
A Quinnipiac poll conducted just two weeks after Charlie Kirk was murdered found that 53% of voters were pessimistic about the future of free speech, a 10% increase from when the poll was conducted in March. (RELATED: Politics on Display: Middleton High Assignment Brands Students ‘Nazis’)
